When you here that Benedict Cumberbatch is playing a villain in any film, you have my attention. Star Trek a titanic force in geekdom is back with a sequel. J.J Abrams is back with his star filled cast, but who on earth is John Harrison? I will not reveal any spoilers for anyone in this review. It really isn’t my style. When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk (Chris Pine) leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.

Into Darkness had a lot to live up to from the first and it definitely surpassed my expectations. It had you emotionally evolved from the outset and my nerves were in shreds by the end. The screenplay was brilliant with the right amount of intensity, humour, emotion and action.The way they’ve moved forward with the new timeline was very well done allowing past stories to cross paths with the enterprise but in a completely new light.The film has some cliché moments which can’t be avoided often with a film this scale however they make use of them well and still pack plenty of surprises. As well as this, despite not being a proper Trekkie myself, some moments gave me goosebumps from the awesomeness from seeing the Enterprise for the first time for example, which greatly honoured the original series. J.J. Abrams’ lens flares helped create more realism in a lot of the scenes despite the fact he often overuses of them.

Benedict Cumberbatch’s role in the film is brilliant. He is ruthless, cold and determined, and steals the show. I have never really considered him as a villain, but now after watching Into Darkness I think he could be a new Rickman. We will have to wait and see how he does as Smaug in the next Hobbit film first. For me I am gutted that Karl Urban didn’t get enough lines, but he really is my favorite character in the new franchise. He has many awesome one liners thorugh the whole film.PLus you do get a Dredd moment in it, when you see it you will know what I mean. Zachary Quinto has evolved Spock yet again we really do see his half human side kick in. It’s a real emotional rollercoaster for him, and really does show that darker side to this sequel. He becomes a bad-ass fighter also, using his Vulcan Nerve Pinch to good use. Chris Pine hasn’t really developed Kirk as much as I would like. But personally I am more of a Picard fan. Simon Pegg, Zoe Saldana and Anton Yelchin did a top job as the rest of the crew. The introduction of Alice Eve was a good move a sexy blonde but very intelligent. I look forward to see how they progress with her character.

I was lucky enough to watch Into Darkness in 3D, and I have to say it was good. This film was made for 3D unlike Iron Man 3, so it works. It’s nice when you can get to see a SciFi blockbuster in this format, but it’s hardly essential for the story. From alien worlds to space stations and even back on Earth it was all about looks and size this time round and it was indeed jaw dropping. My one concern was the story, it was always busy with loads going on but for some reason it felt a bit flat. I can’t put my finger on it but it lacked something.This is grand sci-fi. A grand story with everything that is needed. It’s a story that stands on it’s own feet, as well as giving the right nods to the old series. All of them. The ship. The logos. The ideas. The colors. The beams, warps and shields. and the crew. Enjoy the ride people it wil be a while until we see a third, Mr.Abrams is a bit busy making something called Star Wars.